‘It’s heartbreaking’: Hamilton family grieves after missing baby in Panama found dead

The family of a Hamilton man missing in Central America is dealing with heartbreak Wednesday, as they continue looking for the man and one of his kids.

But they are now also preparing for the funeral of his other child, an infant that was found May 31.

CHCH News spoke with the children’s aunt from Panama and what she describes is a tragedy and a mystery.

They don’t know what happened to Ghussan Iqbal of Hamilton, when he disappeared with his two children.

There was no sign of them, until one of the children’s bodies appeared.

It’s been three weeks to the day since Iqbal went missing with his two young children: seven-month-old Musa and two-year-old Nousaybah.

Iqbal studied at McMaster University and lived on the Hamilton Mountain before moving to Central America with his Panamanian wife.

But he and his children disappeared three weeks ago.

The family spent Wednesday preparing for the funeral of the youngest child – Musa – whose body was found along a local river.

READ MORE: Hamilton family confirms baby missing in Panama found dead

“We were just hoping and praying that it wasn’t baby Musa,” said Nagham Azzam Iqbal, the children’s aunt. “Obviously it’s heartbreaking that a baby was found in the river, but we were just hoping it wasn’t ours.”

DNA confirmed the child was Musa, but Nagham said they don’t know the cause of death, with no signs of trauma, and there’s still no sign of Iqbal and his daughter.

“The baby was found on the banks of the river that was searched multiple, multiple times,” said Nagham. “We’re assuming something happened, and [they] ended up in the river and washed up on the shore. They’re back at the site searching to see if there’s any sign of Ghussan or Nousaybah, but there’s nothing today that we’ve heard of.”

Nagham and Iqbal’s brother Sulman have been searching in the Panama since Iqbal went missing with his children.

At first she said they were slipping through the jungle with no resources, but said they believe pressure from the Canadian government helped and Panama provided resources for the search, like dogs and drones.

“We believe that its pressure and advocacy from the Canadian government that resulted in Panama deployed resources that they had,” said Nagham.

They also said everybody in Panama has been welcoming and helpful.

“Every single person who has been part of [the] search: community members, police, firefighters – the search team has gone out day and night, and the individuals have been committed to finding the family,” said Nagham.

She said while Iqbal has struggled with mental health issues, he loves his children “to no end.”

But there is still no sign of Iqbal and his child, and no explanation of what happened.

While preparing for the funeral, Nagham said, “our brains are spinning – we’re trying to grieve.”

“It’s a challenging time, obviously, with the news of a baby passing, taken too soon, but at the same time we’re just so confused, and we’re not sure of what to make of what’s happening and we’re just hoping that Ghussan and Nousaybah are out there and well, and we can find them,” she said.

Nagham and her husband plan to fly home to Hamilton to be with their family, leaving a local lawyer in Panama to direct the search.

They are planning prayers for the family Sunday at the mountain mosque.

A statement from the federal government’s global affairs Wednesday said Canada is deeply saddened by the death of the child.

It said Canadian consular officials are engaged with local authorities in Panama and are assisting the family.

WATCH MORE: Hamilton family asks for help after man, two kids go missing in Panama